#phaenicophilidae

[best-bird-tournament]

Phaenicophilidae family

Which is the best bird?

White-winged warbler

Green-tailed warbler

Black-crowned palm-tanager

Voting ended onDec 4, 2025

This family contains just three eligible species in three genera (Phaenicophilus, Xenoligea, and Microligea).

[proton-wobbler]

Warbler Showdown; Bracket 10, Poll 3

Green-tailed Warbler vs Gray-throated Chat

Green-tailed Warbler

Gray-throated Chat

Voting ended onMar 20, 2024

Green-tailed Warbler (Microligea palustris)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: resident; highlands of Hispaniola, as well as a new location of xeric lowlands in the southwest Dominican Republic

Habitat: montane broadleaf and pine forests, with a dense understory; one subspecies occurs in xeric (dry) scrub in the lowlands

Subspecies: 2

Gray-throated Chat (Granatellus sallaei)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: resident; southern Mexico, especially the Yucatan, as well as Belize and Guatemala

Habitat: lowland forests and their edges in dry and semi-humid areas

Subspecies: 2

Image Sources: GTWA (Dusan Brinkhuizen) GTCH (Luke Seitz)

[proton-wobbler]

Genus: Microligea

Green-tailed Warbler (Ron Knight)

The original genus for Green-tailed and White-winged Warbler (Xenoligea montana) now belongs to this single species. The etymology comes from mikros 'little' and ligea 'wood-nymph', though there is a ligeia which also alludes to nightingales. However, while naming the genus, the scientist referred to it as 'little wood-nymph'.

More recently, this genus, along with Xenoligea, were moved into the family of Phaenicophilidae and out of the wood-warbler family (Parulidae). The four birds in this family are referred to as Hispaniolan tanager and are all endemic to the island of Hispaniola.

[proton-wobbler]

Warbler Showdown; Bracket 10, Poll 2

White-winged Warbler vs Olive Warbler

White-winged Warbler

Olive Warbler

Voting ended onMar 20, 2024

White-winged Warbler (Xenoligea montana)

IUCN Rating: Vulnerable

Range: resident; montane regions of Hispaniola

Habitat: pine forests, especially above 1300m, as well as humid broadleaf forests with a dense understory

Subspecies: none

Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: semi-migratory; breeds from southern Arizona and New Mexico down to northern Nicaragua. The northern population (AZ, NM, Sinaloa, Nuevo Leon) move south for winter.

Habitat: prefers open forests heavy with pine, fir and an understory with oak.

Subspecies: 5

Image Sources: WWWA (Mark Van Beirs); Ocotero (Bryan Calk)

[proton-wobbler]

Genus: Xenoligea

White-winged Warbler (John C Sullivan)

White-winged Warbler is currently the sole member of its own genus, but it used to share a genus with Green-tailed Warbler (Microligea). It's most likely the etymology behing Xenoligea is a reference to that: Xenos 'stranger' and ligea 'wood-nymph', a reference to the original genus. This split occurred at the same time these two species were removed from the wood-warbler family (Parulidae) and were instead placed into family Phaenicophilidae. The two original members of this family, often referred to as Hispaniolan tanagers, belong to the genus Phaenicophilus. The addition comes from genetic analysis, but as the four birds of Phaenicophilidae are all endemic to the island of Hispaniola, it makes sense why they're grouped together.